Japan's tourism boom continues with over 3 million foreign visitors for third month in a row

Thanks in part to the weakening yen, international visitors to Japan reached 3.04 million in May, rising 60.1 percent from the same month last year and surpassing the 3 million mark for the third time in a row, according to government figures released on Wednesday.

The China holiday season and an increase in aircraft and ships arriving from East Asia were cited by the Japan National Tourism Organization as the reasons for the high number of tourist arrivals.

For the month, the number of tourists from over a dozen nations and regions—including South Korea and the US—reached record highs.

The data shows that the total number of visitors from January to May was 14.64 million, which represents an increase of 6.5 percent over the same time in 2019 prior to the coronavirus epidemic.

By nation and area, South Korea accounted for the greatest number at 738,800, up 22.4 percent from 2019 and 43.3 percent from a year earlier. China came in second with 545,400, more than four times the figure from a year before but still down 27.9 percent from 2019.

According to the organization’s preliminary data, U.S. tourists totaled 247,000, up 34.7 percent from a year earlier and up 57.4 percent compared to May 2019. Taiwan came third with 466,000, up 53.6 percent on the year and gaining 9.3 percent from 2019.

At a news conference, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency Ichiro Takahashi stated that if the current rate of arrival growth continues, the total number of visitors through 2024 may break the yearly record of 31.88 million recorded in 2019.

At 941,700, the number of Japanese people traveling abroad in the reporting month was up 39.4% from the previous year but down 34.5 percent from 2019.